Holidays 2006: Movies Why buy a DVD when Netflix is so cheap and easy?  I'm with you. I see a movie, its images burn into my head, and it's on to the next. But then there are movies you want to share with friends. Or press on other movie-lovers. Or just watch again for your own pleasure and edification. Somehow “movies on demand” never has those films. And renting a film for someone else seems...small. So here's to a small collection of special films. Some are cheap enough to be stocking-stuffers. Others are rare. All have touched me, made me laugh, made me cry. I hope you get as much pleasure from them as I have. ANIMATED PERFECTION The Snowman: one of the most beautiful films ever made, this story of a boy and a magic snowman will play again and again in your dreams. COMEDY Entourage, Seasons 1 and 2: HBO's Hollywood posse may seem shallow as glass, but beneath the jokes and the ambition is an acute study of right conduct in a value-free age. Little Miss Sunshine: truly funny and life-affirming, one of the best films of the year. Bad Santa: bad, bad attitude that will convulse cynics and free-thinkers. Eddie Izzard: the funniest cross-dresser on the planet. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle: This time around, Cheech and Chong are a brilliant med student and a financial whiz. But the marijuana is unchanged. Local Hero: a lovely, gentle comedy set in Scotland, with humor as subtle as a great single malt and a gorgeous soundtrack by Mark Knopfler. The Castle: want to take a chance on an Australian comedy you've never heard of? You won't be sorry. POLITICS Battle of Algiers: the feature that looks so real you'd swear it's a documentary. In French, with subtitles --- but the meaning is clear in every frame. Bloody Sunday: how a peaceful march in Northern Ireland became a tragedy THRILLERS Arlington Road: What if terrorists aren't all swarthy? What if they look like you --- and live next door? SPORTS Without Limits: At last --- a sports hero who's not just a hero, but an artist: the great miler Steve Prefontaine. Glory Road: Long before it became a no-brainer, a Texas basketball coach fields an all-black team. It would be nice if a billionaire carpet-bombed the Middle East with this wonder film. FOREIGN The Conformist: Bernardo Bertolucci's triumph about a World War II collaborator; politics has never looked so scary, sex has never looked so political. L'Atalante: Jean Vigo's masterwork, a beautifully made, surprisingly simple love story. TOO GOOD TO PLEASE A CROWD Off the Map: They live outside the money economy in New Mexico. They have nothing. So why does it seem like they have more than enough? FOR GROWN-UPS Dodsworth: He retires, she cheats, and nobody pulls a gun or knife in this class domestic drama. Directed by the great William Wyler. FOR KIDS We Are...the Laurie Berkner Band: “I'm gonna get you/you'd better run/I'm gonna get you/Here I come!” HOLIDAY The Nutcracker: choreographed by Peter Martins, then artfully animated. --- by Jesse Kornbluth, for HeadButler.com Copyright 2006 by Head Butler Inc.